Aizawl, June 8: Mizoram, one of the less-populated states of India located in Northeast, decided to impose a "total lockdown" for a two week-period to contain coronavirus transmission. The restrictionary orders were issued in aftermath of the Unlock 1 guidelines released by the Centre, with the intent to restart the grounded economy. COVID-19 Live Tracker: Map The Spread of Coronavirus in All States/UTs of India.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who chaired a meeting of top health department officials and Cabinet ministers, announced that a renewed lockdown for 14 days is necessitated to break the transmission chain. If left unchecked, the rate of transmission could peak to unprecedented levels in the state, officials said.

The lockdown would come into effect from today midnight, said a statement issued by the Mizoram CM on social media. He further announced the period of quarantine is also being raised from 14 days at present to 21 days.

The government would be strict in quarantining those detected with COVID-19 symptoms. The option of home quarantine would be provided to only those with "extremely unavoidable reasons", Zoramthanga said.

See Mizoram CM's Tweet

Mizoram, which survived the brunt of pandemic so far, has recorded 21 new cases in the past few days. The tally has jumped to 42, out of which only one patient has recovered so far. The state government has linked the jump in cases to the return of migrant labourers from other parts of the nation.

In Northeast, the worst-affected state is Assam - which also has the maximum population density. The state has recorded 2,693 cases, which includes 2,050 active infections and four patients who have succumbed to death.

In most parts of the nation, massive relaxations came into effect from today as the Union Home Ministry - in its guidelines issued on May 30 - allowed the reopening of all private establishments with regulated employee strength from June 8. The Centre also permitted the re-opening of hotels, restaurants, malls and places of worship under social distancing norms.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2020 05:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).